HOLSWORTHY rallycross star, Dan Rooke, concluded his outstanding debut season in the MSA British Rallycross Championship by finishing second at the prestigious MSA British Rallycross Grand Prix at Croft in Yorkshire on Sunday, October 23.

Having already secured the British Rallycross Championship title at the penultimate round a month earlier, the 19-year-old entered the final round of the season targeting his fourth win from eight starts in the series finale on Saturday, before targeting a top finish in the Grand Prix on Sunday.

In challenging conditions, Rooke set fastest time in the second qualifier on Saturday morning and looked set to challenge for victory, but was forced out by an engine problem with his championship winning Citroen DS3.

The Dan Rooke Racing and LD Motorsports teams worked into the night with the support of engine builder Julian Godfrey to repair the car, enabling Rooke to take part in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Fastest in qualifying one, Rooke maintained a consistent pace through the qualifying stages of the event to line up on pole position for the ten-car final, in which he had finished as the top two-wheel drive car 12 months previously in his first rallycross season, a day after winning the MSA Supernational Rallycross Championship.

As the lights went out in the final, Rooke raced neck-and-neck with World Rallycross Championship driver and event team mate, Liam Doran, racing a World Championship specification Citroen DS3 Supercar, and tucked into second position at the first corner. Rooke pressured experienced racer Doran throughout the final and finished second, just two seconds from victory.

Reflecting on his weekend as a whole, Rooke was keen to praise his team for ensuring he could compete on Sunday and allow him to compete against his illustrious rival.

Rooke said: “It was disappointing not to be able to have one final blast in the championship on Saturday due to the engine problems, but to be fair at least we didn’t have that happen earlier in the season.

“The boys did an amazing job working until 2.30am fixing the car. I can’t thank them enough for the commitment they put in this weekend to get us out in the Grand Prix.”

The result marked Rooke’s seventh podium from nine starts in his inaugural Supercar campaign. “It’s nice to have had a clean day and finished close to Liam, and celebrate with some donuts at the finish. Through the weekend I was able to match Liam on times, which I’m really happy about because his car is very up to date and Liam has many years of experience. It’s good to see where I am against someone with that experience. I can’t do much more than winning the British Championship in my first season in Supercar, hopefully we can secure enough support to progress next season.”

MSA British Rallycross Grand Prix:

1. L Doran (Citroen DS3); 2. D Rooke (Dan Rooke); 3. J Godfrey (Ford Fiesta); 4. K Procter (Ford Fiesta); 5. P Doran (Citroen C4); 6. J Grint (Peugeot 208); 7. O O’Donovan (Ford Fiesta); 8. D Bellerby (Ford Fiesta)

MSA British Rallycross Championship Standings after round 8/8

1. D Rooke 194; 2. O O’Donovan 177; 3. J Godfrey 173; 4. D Bellerby 163; 5. K Procter 139; 6. S Hill 129; 7. S Harris 127

8. A Grant 121